Just days after the Australian Bureau of Statistics started mailing out the same-sex marriage postal survey, voters have been warned against posting photos of their vote on social media to safeguard their response.

UpdatedUpdated 14 September 2017

By
Riley Morgan

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Same-sex marriage postal surveys arrived in letterboxes around the country this week and some Australians have been quick to show off their votes on social media.

But the ABS has asked people to avoid posting pictures of their ballot online to safeguard privacy and security.

The barcode on the bottom right corner of each ballot paper is linked to the corresponding voter.

"The ABS discourages people from posting images of their Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey materials online in order to safeguard the privacy and security of their response," an ABS spokesperson told SBS World News.

Voters also raised privacy concerns on Wednesday when photos of the responses on the ballot were easily recognisable under torch light.

A photo posted on Facebook and Reddit claimed to easily show a voter's decision when a light was directed through the envelope.

A Reddit thread started with claims you could see the vote on a ballot if you shined a torch on the envelope.